Our goal in Newark is clear: All students should be in schools that ensure they graduate high school with the skills to succeed at the college and/or career of their choice. Failure to do so means denying a generation of students access to the American dream.

Research shows that effective teachers put students on an entirely different life trajectory — toward college, a higher salary, even a more stable family life. I am committed to ensuring that we have a strong teacher in every classroom and great leader in every school. Based on my 20-plus years in education, I know we must significantly change how we recruit, select, develop and retain our educators.

Since arriving in Newark, I have engaged in dialogue with hundreds of teachers through forums, brown bag lunches, classroom visits, newsletters and e-mails. These dedicated educators shared their hopes and frustrations, including barriers linked to outdated contracts between the district and our unions. There is emerging agreement on what is not working and how we can fix it.

It’s clear to me — and many of our educators — that our current contract needs to be dramatically changed, not just tweaked. The 92-page document forces us to treat teachers like interchangeable factory workers rather than skilled 21st-century professionals, and prevents us from ensuring that all students have access to effective educators.

We need to help schools hire the best teachers who fit with the mission of the school. In part due to contract restrictions, teacher vacancies typically aren’t filled until late spring, when the strongest candidates already have accepted positions elsewhere. Schools should be able to post vacancies online as they become available, so that candidates inside or outside Newark public schools can apply and principals can quickly fill positions with candidates who are the best fit.

We need to retain our most talented teachers, but many successful teachers leave because their contract doesn’t recognize and reward good performance.

Other professionals earn raises or promotions for outstanding work, but our teachers’ salaries are based solely on education and years of experience.

A great fifth-year teacher makes $35,000 a year less than a mediocre 14th-year teacher. We want to reward our most talented educators with higher compensation — especially if they teach in hard-to-staff subjects or excel with our highest-need students.

Everyone can agree that instructional decisions made at the school level are much more likely to meet the ever-changing and unique needs of our students. But our contract prescribes uniform rules from the minute teachers must arrive each morning to the number of teachers allowed to watch the playground during recess. We should trust our educators and give them the flexibility to meet their students’ needs.

Finally, we cannot allow the relatively small number of teachers who remain ineffective, even after meaningful support, to stay in classrooms. I want every teacher to succeed, but our students cannot wait indefinitely for a struggling teacher to improve — not to mention that nothing is more frustrating to effective teachers than having to work alongside those who are not.

Some research shows that we lose our best teachers to charter schools and other professions because they feel they are not growing and they become disheartened seeing students in ineffective classrooms. After multiple poor ratings validated by several people, we should presume that these few teachers are ineffective and partner with the union to manage them out — efficiently.

The current contract is a barrier for everyone — teachers, administrators, unions officials and district leaders — who want our students to have a better life. I want to work with educators to create a contract that treats educators as professionals and puts our students on the path to success. My conversations with teachers and transformational school leaders indicate that they want this, too. I am confident that, together, we can make this happen.